Collator.



A. F. HARRIS & W. HLSMITH. I

GOLLATOR.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 1, 1908.

Patented June 15, 1909.

m m w Walter H- Snultlc/ UNI-TED STATES PATENT OFFICE. 1

ALFRED F. HARRIS AND WALTER H. SMITH, OF NILES, OHIO, ASSIGNORS TO THE HARRIS AUTOMATIC PRESS COMPANY, OF NILES, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

COLLATOB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J une 15, 1909.

Application filed flay 1, 1908. Serial No. 430,374.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-we, ALFRED F. linens and VVALTER H. SMITH. both of Niles, in the county of Trumbull and State of Ohio, have 5 invented certain new and useful Improvements in Collators; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

The object of this invention is to provide simple and highly efficient means for simultaneously feeding separate sheets of paper from several. piles thereof and bringing such sheets together, at a common point, piled one upon another.

The invention will be hereinafter fully set forth and particularly pointed out in the claims. In the accompanying drawings, the figure is a side elevation with some of the parts omitted and others in dotted lines.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates the main frame at one end of which are upper and lower feed tables 2 and 3, set on inclines,

While at the other end of the frame is a delivery table 4 upon which. the stock is discharged. Forward of the lower end of each feed table is a sheet feed or separator 5, preferably of the type known as the Harris,

which is covered by Letters Patent of the United States No. 651,307, dated June 5, 1900. In these feeders the upper of two co"; acting elements is intermittently positively driven, while the lower element is frictionally retarded but is driven by the former only when they are in direct engagement with each other or when there is but a single sheet interposed between them. These sheet feeds may be operated by any suitable means, such as that shown in Reissued Letters Patent No. 12,292 to C. G. Harris of November 29, 1904. The device shown in that patent comprises a reciprocating rack bar 6 engaging a gear pinion on the shaft of the positively driven element, and in the present instance this rack bar is shown as operating directly on such element of the lower sheet feed. Since both sheet feeds must operate synchronously, we preferably communicate power to the positively driven contact element of the upper sheet feed by a sprocket chain 7. The rack bar 6 is operated by any suitable cam actuated by the gearing of the machine.

8, 8, designate upper and lower sets of withdrawal rolls located, respectively, adjacent to the two sheet feeds. These rolls are preferably driven by power applied to one of the shafts of the lower set of rolls, which shaft is connected by a chain 9 to one of the shafts of the upper set of rolls.

10,'10, designate two conveyors leading from the two sets of withdrawal rolls forward to a common point, the upper conveyer being inclined downward and the lower conveyor inclined upward, and the latter is preferably extended a short distance beyond the lotver forward end of the upper conveyer. Each of these conveyors is shownas being composed of endless bands or tapes assed over suitable rolls, and power is app ied in any preferred manner. Forward of the convergent ends of these two conveyors is a set of withdrawal rolls 12 which receive the separate sheets of stock fed by the two conveyors and discharge the same, one upon the other,

. and at the same time, directly onto the delivery table 4.

This collator is especially designed for bringing together in a common pile sheets of paper supplied from separate piles. In making up order books and the like having duplicate sheets, containing separate matter, or the same matter printed on sheets of different colors or different qualities of paper, for manifold entries,'the sheets while separately printed must be brought together in alternate relation for the comp eted book. According to our invention, the separate piles of sheets are positioned onthe feed tables, and the machine being in operation one sheet is fed at a time from each pile, and both sheets are simultaneously carried forward by the two conveyors and are brought together at a common point and areso discharged onto the delivery table. A collator so constructed is capable of feeding from separate 'piles and bringing the sheets together in a common pile at the rate of several thousand an hour.

We claim as our invention 1. A collator comprising a plurality of sheet feeds or separators arranged one above the other and operating synchronously for feeding sheets from separate piles thereof, means connecting the two sheet feeds so that one will be operated by the other, a corres onding number of conveyers, leading from the sheet feeds or separators to a common point, and a delivery table adjacent to such common point upon which the sheets are dis thereof, withdrawal rolls adjacent to each charged, one upon another.

2. A collator comprising a plurality of veyers leading from said withdrawal rolls and sheet feeds or separators arranged one above converging to a common point, withdrawal the other, means for operating one sheet feed rolls for receivin sheets carried by said conor separator, means connectingthe sheet l veyers, and a de ivery table upon which the feeds or separators to cause them to operate 1 sheets are discharged by said withdrawal synchronously and one sheet feed to operate rolls. the other,v separate conveyers leading from the sheet feeds or separators to a common specification in the presence of two subscribpoint, and a delivery table adjacent to such ing witnesses. point for receiving the sheets, one upon an-. ALFRED F HARRIS. other. WALTER H. SMITH.

Witnesses:

O. G. PRITOHARD, i EUGENE WITHERSTAY.

3. A collator comprising upper and lower I sheet feeds or separators operating synchro- I nously for feeding sheets from separate piles sheet feed or separator, upper and lower con- In testimony whereof, we have signed this 

